Obamacare Ruled Unconstitutional (Again)

Photo by Chuck Kennedy/White House Flickr.According to Floridian federal judge Roger Vinson, Obamacare is unconstitutional. As the Associated Press reports, in a case filed on behalf of 26 states and presided over by Vinson, “[a]t issue was whether the government is reaching beyond its constitutional power to regulate interstate commerce by requiring citizens to purchase health insurance or face tax penalties.” And removing this specific statute is not feasible, if that’s what you’re thinking. As Vinson wrote in his ruling, “going through the 2,700-page Act line-by-line, invalidating dozens (or hundreds) of some sections while retaining dozens (or hundreds) of others, would not only take considerable time and extensive briefing, but it would, in the end, be tantamount to rewriting a statute in an attempt to salvage it.” The entire 78-page ruling is available online—although, politics aside, Representative Dennis Kucinich’s lawsuit against the House cafeteria makes for a better read. As with December’s decision by Virginia federal judge Henry Hudson, today’s ruling will not affect anyone currently enjoying the benefits of health care for quite some time—if ever—The New York Times notes. Vinson, like Hudson, “said he would allow the law to remain in effect while the Obama administration appeals his ruling, a process that could take two years.”

In response to today’s decision, the Department of Justice issued a strongly worded statement of disagreement: “There is clear and well-established legal precedent that Congress acted within its constitutional authority in passing this law and we are confident that we will ultimately prevail on appeal.”